Handbag organizer with light

ABSTRACT

The organizer includes a normally planar, flexible internal member that tends to return to a planar state when bent, such that the organizer applies an outwardly directed force on the interior surface of the handbag sidewalls to permit easy access to the retained items and automatically conforming to the shape of the handbag interior, making the organizer suitable for use with a large number of different size and shape handbags. No structure for attaching the organizer to the handbag sidewalls is required. Further, the organizer is provided with a built-in light source with an actuation switch.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

REFERENCE TO A “SEQUENCE LISTING”, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAMLISTING APPENDIX SUBMITTED ON COMPACT DISC

Not Applicable

The present invention relates to an organizer adapted to be receivedwithin a handbag or other similar bag for retaining one or more itemsand more particularly to such an organizer that conforms to the interiorwalls of the handbag and includes a light to illuminate the handbaginterior.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Many inserts and attachments for retaining items in handbags, oftenreferred to as organizers because they are useful in keeping a number ofitems in an organized fashion, are known in the art. The organizers arecommonly designed with individual compartments for holding personalitems, such as eyeglasses, writing instruments, cell phones, wallets andthe like. Such organizers may either be received loose within thehandbag interior, or may be permanently or removeably attached to thehandbag sidewalls.

DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART INCLUDING INFORMATION DISCLOSED UNDER 37 CFR1.97 AND 1.98

However, organizers that are loosely received within the interior of ahandbag tend to move around within the handbag. If the sidewalls of thehandbag are non-rigid, they may partially collapse over the organizer,and may obstruct the path to the organizer, making location and removalof the retained items from the organizer difficult. On the other hand,organizers that are attached to the sidewalls of the handbag must befabricated to fit the sidewalls of the particular handbag within whichthey are designed to be received. Thus, a large variety of differentsize and shape organizers are required for use with the many differenthandbag configurations available on the market. Further, such organizersmust include a means for attachment to the handbag sidewall to preventthe organizer from moving around within the handbag interior.

It would therefore be desirable to have an organizer what would keep thewalls of a non-rigid walled handbag apart for unobstructed access to theitems retained in the organizer and, at the same time, would be capableof conforming to the dimensions of a variety of different size and shapehandbags with rigid sidewalls, such that a single organizer style couldbe used with any one of a large number of different handbags.

Further, the interior of the handbag is often dark, making it difficultto locate a particular item within the organizer. It would therefore beadvantageous to have an organizer with a built-in light source toilluminate the handbag interior.

It is, therefore, a prime object of the present invention to provide anorganizer for a handbag or the like that tends to keep the sidewalls ofa handbag with non-rigid sidewalls apart to facilitate location andremoval of items retained therein.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a handbagorganizer that will automatically conform to the sidewalls of thehandbag in which it is situated.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a handbagorganizer that can be used with a large variety of different size andshape handbags.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a handbagorganizer that does not require any means for attachment to the handbagsidewalls.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a handbagorganizer with a built-in light for illuminating the handbag interior.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In general, the above mentioned objects are achieved by the organizer ofthe present invention through the use of a normally planar, flexibleinternal member that tends to return to a planar state when bent, suchthat the organizer applies an outwardly directed force on the interiorsurface of the handbag sidewalls, keep the sidewalls apart to permiteasy access to the retained items and automatically conforming to theshape of the handbag interior, thereby making the organizer suitable foruse with a large number of different size and shape handbags without thenecessity of any structure for attaching the organizer to the handbagsidewalls. Further, the organizer is provided with a built-in lightsource with an easily accessed actuation switch.

More specifically, the present invention relates to an organizer for ahandbag or the other type bag that has an interior space defined in partby two or more sidewalls. The organizer includes first and second sheetsof material joined together at the periphery so as to form a recesstherebetween. A normally generally planar member is situated within therecess formed between the sheets. The member is formed of flexiblematerial which when bent will tend to return to the planar state,thereby causing the organizer to press against and conform to thesidewalls of the handbag into which it is received.

A compartment, preferably in the form of a pocket, situated on one ofthe material sheets, is adapted to retain an object therein. A lightsource is mounted on the organizer.

Preferably, a plurality of different size pockets are provided. Thosepockets are adapted to retain different size objects. A flap ispreferably provided for covering one of the pockets. Several flaps maybe provided for covering several of the pockets. The light source ispreferably mounted on one of the flaps.

The light source preferably takes the form of a light emitting diode.

A battery is provided on the organizer. A switch is provided foractuating the light source. The light source and the battery form a unitmounted to one of the flaps of the organizer pockets.

The organizer may also include key retaining means mounted thereon. Thekey retaining means preferably takes the form of a self-closing keyloop.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF DRAWINGS

To those and to such other objects as may hereinafter appear, thepresent invention relates to a handbag organizer with a light, asdescribed in detail in the following specification and recited in theannexed claims, taken together with the accompanying drawings, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts, and in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded isometric view of the organizer of the presentinvention bent into a shape to permit insertion into a handbag;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the organizer showing the item retainingpockets;

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the structure of theorganizer;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged front view of one of the pocket flaps of theorganizer showing the built-in light; and

FIG. 5 is a front view of a handbag showing the organizer receivedtherein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As seen in the drawings, the present invention relates to an organizer,generally designated A, for a handbag or the like, generally designatedB. It should be understood that although the organizer of the presentinvention is disclosed for use with a handbag, it could be utilized withany type of bag, such as a tote bag, sports bag, luggage, backpack orbook bag, having either non-rigid or rigid sidewalls.

Handbag B has an interior space 10 defined, in part, by sidewalls 12. Asshown in FIG. 1, handbag A is formed of four sidewalls 12: a frontsidewall 12 a, a left sidewall 12 b, a rear sidewall 12 c and a rightsidewall 12 d. The handbag also includes a bottom or floor 14 and a flap16 which forms the top of the handbag. Handbag flap 16 is provided witha female clasp part 18 which is adapted to receive a male clasp part 20which extends outwardly from the exterior surface of front sidewall 12a. Male clasp part 20 has a rotatable outer part 22 for maintaining theclasp in the “locked” position so as to retain flap 16 adjacent to thefront sidewall of the handbag.

As best seen from FIG. 4, organizer A includes first and second sheetsof fabric, plastic, vinyl or other suitable material 24, 26 joinedtogether at the periphery 28 by adhesive, stitching, heat welding or anyother conventional closure method so as to form an elongated recess 30between sheets 24, 26. A normally generally planar structural insertmember 32 is situated with recess 30 formed between the sheets 24, 26.Member 32 is formed of flexible plastic or metallic material which whenbent will tend to return to its original planar state. Thischaracteristic of member 32 causes organizer A to apply an outward forceto press against the interior surfaces of sidewalls 12 of the handbagwhen the organizer is bent and placed within the handbag.

In this manner, if sidewalls 12 of the handbag are made of non-rigidmaterial, the organizer prevents the sidewalls from partially collapsingand obstructing access to the organizer. Whether the sidewalls of thehandbag are non-rigid or rigid, the organizer will substantially conformto the shape of the interior of the handbag, making a single styleorganizer suitable of use with a large variety of different size andshape handbags.

A plurality of item retaining compartments in the form of pockets 34, ofdifferent sizes and shapes, are formed adjacent sheet 24. Pockets 34 areadapted to retain various items therein such as a pen 36, envelopes 38,a cigarette lighter 40 and the like. The pockets are either open at thetop, in which case the edge of the mouth of the pocket is provided withelastic or the mouth of the pocket is closed with a flap 44.

As is best seen in FIG. 4, the central flap 46 is provided as a base fora light containing unit 48 attached to the interior surface thereof.Unit 48 includes a circular housing 50 with a lens 52 mounted on thefront surface thereof. Contained within housing 50 is a light source anda battery (not shown). A switch 54 for connecting the battery to thelight source is accessible from the exterior of the housing. Switch 54is accessible when flap 46 is open and may be manually actuatable toconnect the battery to the light source to illuminate the interior ofthe handbag.

Alternatively, switch 54 may automatically turn the light on when flap46 is opened. In that case, switch 54 is spring-loaded toward thenon-depressed position but is normally held in the depressed position bythe exterior surface of the underlying pocket 34 when flap 46 is closed.When flap 46 is opened, switch 54 is released and the internal springcauses the switch to move to the non-depressed position to connect thebattery to the light source.

The light source may include any kind of low voltage lamp but preferablyincludes a light emitting diode.

The organizer also includes key retaining means mounted thereon. The keyretaining means preferably takes the form of a self-closing key loop 56mounted on a strap 58 located near one of the corners of the organizer.

It will now be appreciated that the present invention relates to ahandbag organizer that is designed to apply an outwardly directed forceto prevent the collapsing of non-rigid sidewalls that might otherwiseobstruct access to the retained items, which will automatically conformto the shape of the handbag interior to facilitate access to theretained items and making it suitable for use with a large number ofdifferent size and shape handbags, and which will illuminate theinterior of the handbag.

While only a single preferred embodiment of the present invention hasbeen disclosed herein for purposes of illustration, it is obvious thatmany variations and modifications could be made thereto. It is intendedto cover all of those variations and modifications that fall within thescope of the present invention, as defined by the following claims:

1. An organizer for a handbag or the like of the type having an interiorspace defined in part by two or more sidewalls, the organizer comprisingfirst and second sheets of material joined together at the periphery soas to form a recess therebetween, a normally generally planar membersituated within said recess, said member comprising a flexible materialwhich when bent will tend to return to the planar state thereby causingthe organizer to press against and substantially conform to thesidewalls of the handbag, a compartment formed on one of said materialsheets, adapted to retain an item therein, and a battery operated lightsource.
 2. The organizer of claim 1 wherein said compartment comprises aplurality of different size pockets adapted to retain different sizeitems.
 3. The organizer of claim 1 further comprising a flap forcovering said compartment.
 4. The insert of claim 1 wherein said lightsource is a light emitting diode.
 5. The insert of claim 3 wherein saidlight source is located on said flap.
 6. The organizer of claim 5wherein said light source is a light emitting diode.
 7. The organizer ofclaim 1 further comprising a further comprising a switch for actuatingsaid light source.
 8. The organizer of claim 1 further comprising abattery and wherein said light source and said battery form a unit. 9.The organizer of claim 8 wherein said unit is mounted on said flap. 10.The organizer of claim 1 further comprising key retaining means.
 11. Theorganizer of claim 10 wherein said key retaining means comprises aself-closing key loop.